The junta's reaction to Nargis was appalling. Corrupt, paranoid generals wasted weeks rebuffing humanitarian aid from US Navy ships offshore, apparently fearing a plot to overthrow their regime. Then they arrested Burmese civilians and Buddhist monks who tried to organize a homegrown relief effort.
The calamity showed that Burma's plight is not simply a matter of economic under-development. The generals receive payoffs from Chinese companies doing business in Burma and royalties from Western energy companies extracting natural gas. Burma suffers not from a lack of foreign investment or assistance but a lack of freedom.
Yet some proponents of engagement with the junta, encouraged by business interests, argue against maintaining US and European sanctions. In so doing, they disregard the position of jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
Wisely, however, the Obama administration has indicated it does not intend to lift the sanctions.
While President Bush spoke strongly for the cause of human rights in Burma, the worldwide goodwill that President Obama now enjoys gives him a chance to do what his predecessor couldn't. Obama should forge a broad consensus demanding the release of all political prisoners and dialogue between the junta and the Burmese dissidents it now represses.
